CS:GO is one of the most popular eSports in the world. A new documentary has gone viral after charting the glory days of the competitive sport. We discuss it in the article below.
It is estimated that around 640.8 million people watch eSports. Despite this, documentaries that go behind the scenes and plot its history are relatively rare. Ones with a budget are even more so, as many are pieces from socials and are homemade affairs. A new documentary is trending, that discusses the rise of one of the major eSports, CS:GO.
Memories of CS:GO
Soft drink giant Red Bull has teamed up with presenter Freya Spiers, in a brand new documentary focused on CS:GO. Named ‘Memories of CS:GO – The Final Years’ it was released in December 2024, but has only just risen to prominence as the community has both lauded and criticised it in equal measures. Produced by Red Bull media house, it charts the rise of the sport and takes accounts from key figures in the game at the time. From Team Liquid to Team Astralis, it goes all the all the way to Team Vitality’s huge win at the major.
Specifically, it looks at the hard work that goes into making a team, often discussing the switching of players out and the emotional impact that has. Nicolai Reedtz and Jonathan Jablonowski are a few of many players who give their firsthand accounts.
This is not the first time Red Bull media has made documentaries about the eSports scene. It follows on from a sister documentary which chartered the fledgling years of the game as a first-person, competitive shooter. They also recently created a documentary about the Korean League of Legends team T1.
Freya Spiers was a natural choice as the documentary host. She is a professional Counter-Strike host and interviewer, who set up her own website TopMid. She used this as a platform to attend events, interviewing players and other people on the scene. This quickly saw her get picked up and promoted to FACEIT, the competitive game platform. Reporting on the ECS season finals, she then became a desk host and interviewer on most of the top broadcasts. This included Intel Extreme Masters, Blast events and the PGL Major.
The Rise of CS:GO
While the documentary has both its fans and haters, it is one of few documentaries on the growing sports when there should clearly be more. With a huge fanbase, numbering around 11 million players each month, the game is huge and has moved far beyond the confines of its format. It is no longer just a game, but a spectator sport with licenses, merchandise and professional teams.
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CS:GO also has a huge following on related socials and websites. You can see this by looking through what CSGO sites are trending and picking out the most popular ones. Usually, they are related to one of the game’s other huge draws: Skins. These are aesthetic covers for weapons, that alter the appearance of guns and knives in the game. As they come in different levels of rarity, they accrue value on the second-hand marketplace.
In fact, you can even use them to sell, trade and gamble. These sites operate like a standard online casino. As well as using real money, you can trade in your CS:GO skins and items. You can then use this to bet on CS:GO events and their outcomes. However, it also provides you with a huge array of different options. This can include CS:GO roulette, crash gaming akin to the Aviator title popular in casinos, and case opening so you can try and find new items and skins.
Public Reaction
Reactions to the documentary have been mixed. Some were extremely happy with the format, in what is a sparse field for the genre. One Reddit user said it really took them down memory lane, making them proud of what the game has achieved and become. Others praised the way it retold the story, with some excellent cinematography and visuals.
However, others believed it did not hit the mark, and should have told more about the rise of the best teams. This is understandable, as their is a lot to fit into a documentary that was only around an hour and a half long.
The overriding themes that came up for many people related to how it made them sad that the original game had come to an end. There are newer versions, but this original one spawned pretty much a whole genre. It was there at the birth of eSports, forging a path for games and giving them credibility. This genre has been included in the Asian games and now has its own Olympics. None of this would have been possible without CS:GO and this documentary is a fitting way to immortalise that period in history.
